Ruddock Report (part 4): overview and the Big Three areas

I am presenting a briefing to some members of the Synod of the Sydney Anglican Diocese providing an overview of the leaked recommendations of the Ruddock Report, and the three most important areas of reform flowing from those recommendations. The full paper can be downloaded here, and my Powerpoint presentation is available here: Ruddock summary PP.

In short, I think the three most significant areas are:

1.Rec 15, that the Commonwealth enact a Religious Discrimination Act (and rec 2, on principles to follow in drafting such an Act);

2.Recs 5-8, that religious schools generally remain free to run their schools consistently with their religious ethos; and

3.Rec 9, concerning parents being given notice by schools of teaching which might be contrary to their beliefs.

In the paper I explain why these are important. I also provide a brief indication of my views on the other recommendations in an Appendix to the paper.

(For those interested in easy access to my previous blogs in response to the Ruddock Report recommendations, you can see